News you need to know

From the upgrade/downgrade report (Mon Dec 5): Brady and the Patriots settled for four field goals on an afternoon that didn't require more than that to beat the Rams. Rob Gronkowski being out is limited the upside of the offense and Week 14 brings the hypercompetitive rivalry with the Ravens. Weeks 15 and 16 bring the Broncos and Jets, so Brady's fantasy high point of the season is likely behind him.

General News (Tue Dec 6): completed 33 of his 46 pass attempts for 269 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in the Week 13 game against the Los Angeles Rams. With the win, he became the winningest quarterback in NFL history with 201 victories. "It's always been about winning, and I've been very fortunate to be on a lot of great teams," Brady said. "I'm really grateful."

Week 14: vs Baltimore Ravens

Mark and Joe say: Tough matchup. Tom Brady won his 201st career start last week (including the postseason), the most victories by a starting QB in NFL history - he's a winner with or without Rob Gronkowski (now on IR for the 2016 season due to a herniated disk in his back).
No Gronkowski, no problem - New England 26, L.A. 10. Actually, though, Tom Brady had only one TD pass during the game (33/46 for 269 yards passing, one TD and zero interceptions thrown, with zero sacks taken). Julian Edelman (12 targets for 8/101/0 receiving) and Malcolm Mitchell (10 for 8/82/0) both enjoyed double-digit targets, while Danny Amendola (four for 3/30/0) and Chris Hogan (five for 4/23/1) cleaned up behind the featured guys. Martellus Bennett disappointed with a mere four targets for 2/4/0 receiving - he's not getting a bounty of targets with Gronkowski out (at least, not yet).
The Ravens crushed Miami 38-6 last week, so as you might expect Ryan Tannehill's numbers were ugly (29/40 for 215 net yards passing, one TD and three interceptions thrown, with two sacks taken for -11 yards). Two weeks ago Andy Dalton managed 26/48 for 261 net yards passing, one TD and zero interceptions thrown (with three sacks for -22 yards, one a strip-sack for six points to Baltimore on the return). From Week 10 to Week 13 of the 2016 season (over the last four weeks, but includes 10 teams on bye during that time span - each team has at least three games played in the last four weeks), Baltimore has averaged 17.6 fantasy points allowed per game to opposing quarterbacks (ninth-least in the NFL); and 19.4 fantasy points per game allowed to wide receivers (11th-least); with 8.2 fantasy points given up per game to tight ends (13th-most).
This looks like a tough matchup for Brady and company.

Recent Stats and Projections

WEEK

OPP

oSNAP

CMP

ATT

YD

TD

INT

RSH

YD

TD

FumL

Pts

10

vs SEA

67

23

32

316

0

1

5

7

0

0

14.5

11

at SF

76

24

40

280

4

0

4

12

0

0

31.2

12

at NYJ

73

30

50

286

2

0

3

-4

0

0

20.9

13

vs LA

79

33

46

269

1

0

3

1

0

0

17.55

14

vs BAL

PROJ-Dodds

*

23

36

*

*

*

2

*

*

*

*

14

vs BAL

PROJ-Tremblay

*

23

35

*

*

*

4

*

*

*

*

14

vs BAL

PROJ-Bloom

*

30

44

*

*

*

1

*

*

*

*

Recent Game Summaries

2016 Week 13 vs LA (33 / 46 / 269 / 1 / 0 pass, 3 / 1 / 0 rush)

Tom Brady didn't need to be otherworldly against the Rams, as the Patriots defense by and large stymied the Rams offense. In fact, the Rams had 3 points nearly the entire game, scoring their touchdown in garbage time with the game winding down. As a result, Brady played a fairly controlled style with tons of short passes and quick hits. The offense did bog down a bit in Rams territory, which meant Stephen Gostkowski had more field goal attempts than Brady would have liked. Brady's lone touchdown was a nice back shoulder throw to Chris Hogan with pinpoint ball placement. Pass protection was adequate, and Aaron Donald was notably held in check, something teams have struggled to do this season. Without Rob Gronkowski, expect a bunch of short passes going forward, and more variation in receiver packages and sets.

2016 Week 12 vs NYJ (30 / 50 / 286 / 2 / 0 pass, 3 / -4 / 0 rush)

It was a tale of two halves for Tom Brady, who looked ordinary for much of the day. The first half of the game was one of his worst of the season, as he barely cleared 100 yards in the air. However, in the final 10 minutes of the game, Brady was 10 for 15 with 132 yards and a touchdown. His first touchdown was a bizarre one, as Brady fumbled a shotgun snap, but somehow the ball bounced right back into his hands, and he fired a laser to Malcolm Mitchell running towards the back of the end zone. Brady's second game winning touchdown also went to Mitchell, who ran a quick out to the left for a score. Notably, Brady also had a near-touchdown on a deep ball to Mitchell, but the defending cornerback knocked the ball out at the last second. Mitchell also had another long touchdown barely go through his hands. It was notable that the Patriots couldn't convert several red zone or near red zone opportunities, something uncharacteristic of the offense. Brady was under pressure for much of the game, which has been a theme throughout his career against the Jets, who always play him tough. Brady was also without top target Rob Gronkowski for much of the game, as Gronk suffered a back injury in the first half. One also wonders if Brady's knee injury coming into the game limited him in some fashion, though this is something we'll never truly know. The 50 pass attempts were a massive amount, but Brady and company did just enough to win.

2016 Week 11 vs SF (24 / 40 / 280 / 4 / 0 pass, 4 / 12 / 0 rush)

The west conditions were definitely a factor for the Patriots in San Francisco. The game was close through halftime as Tom Brady missed multiple deep routes with inaccuracy and took an untimely sack to stall a first half drive. However, Brady's pocket movement was at an all-time high this week. Brady eluded multiple defenders before firing a strike to James White on a comeback route. With pressure bearing down in the red zone, Brady faded to his left and floated a perfect pass to an open Danny Amendola crossing in the back of the end zone. Finally, in a scramble drill moment, Brady delivered a strike right past a defender's helmet to Malcolm Mitchell streaking down the seam for a long catch-and-run touchdown. On a day where the overmatched 49ers hung around for most of the game, Brady's pass-making skills beyond the construct of play design was pivotal to New England winning in the second half. Without Chris Hogan and Rob Gronkowski, Brady matched his season high with four touchdowns. Once the pair return, Brady will be operating at full weapons capacity with Dion Lewis returning to action in this game. With the Rams, Ravens, and Broncos on the schedule over the next month, Brady will need all of them to continue to thrive.

2016 Week 10 vs SEA (23 / 32 / 316 / 0 / 1 pass, 5 / 7 / 0 rush)

Though the Patriots offense was trending up and the Seahawks defense trending down coming into this matchup, you wouldn't know it based on yesterday's game. Brady and the offense had a rough go of it, with Brady pressured several times and finally tallying his first interception of the season. Brady's interception was actually just a terrible decision, as he threw straight into coverage while scrambling under pressure. There was no reason for the throw, and it was a pretty easy interception for the Seahawks. The one thing Brady did do well was throw the deep lob several times with pinpoint accuracy. Brady's no touchdowns weren't entirely his fault, as it just so happened LeGarrette Blount was able to score three times. However, there were a couple missed goal line connections. The most notable was a 4th and goal from the 1 yard line. Brady threw a fade route to Gronk, and there was plenty of contact between him and Kam Chancellor. The officials decided not to call a foul on Chancellor, which was questionable at best, and the Seahawks won the game. On the prior play, Brady also botched a goal line sneak, as he moved too early and fumbled the snap. Regardless of the outcome, it wasn't a panic moment for the Patriots offense, as much of the damage came against the defense.

2016 Week 8 vs BUF (22 / 33 / 315 / 4 / 0 pass, 1 / 15 / 0 rush)

At the ripe old age of 39, Tom Brady is in a class by himself. He put on an absolute clinic against the Bills on the road, putting the game out of reach by the 3rd quarter. Brady's first touchdown was a thing of beauty, stepping up through the face of pressure and firing to an open Danny Amendola. Had Brady's not been able to slide in the pocket, the play would have resulted in a sack. His second touchdown was another example of mental toughness. Brady had completed a long pass from midfield to Julian Edelman that went to the Bills 1 yard line. However, a holding penalty negated it, so on the very next play, he did nearly the same thing, with a 53 yard touchdown to Chris Hogan. Since that 53 yard touchdown wasn't enough, Brady decided to throw another one, this time to Rob Gronkowski on another deep shot. Brady capped off his scoring with a 12 yard touchdown to Julian Edelman that saw Edelman catch a short pass and narrowly dive into the end zone. Brady had numerous other good plays, and interestingly, played well despite taking several big hits throughout the day. The Patriots go on bye next week, and it's a well deserved one.

2016 Week 7 vs PIT (19 / 26 / 222 / 2 / 0 pass, 5 / 13 / 0 rush)

Another day at the office for Tom Brady, who wasn't out of this world good, but played well enough to secure a win. Brady had a rougher first half in terms of pressure and receiver separation, but was still able to toss two touchdown passes during the game and continue his streak of turnover-free football. Brady's first touchdown was a short screen to James White who did most of the work, weaving in and out of defenders. His second was a deep shot to Rob Gronkowski on a classic seam route, beating his defender and a safety in coverage. Game script did call for a heavy dose of runs against the Steelers, as the Patriots actually had more runs than passes overall on the day. Brady himself also scrambled a few times, a rarity for the slow-footed star. Brady was also the victim of a couple critical third down drops by Julian Edelman and Brandon Bolden, and the Patriots also had two fumbles which limited further scoring.

2016 Week 6 vs CIN (29 / 35 / 376 / 3 / 0 pass, 2 / 2 / 0 rush)

It was a tale of two halves for Brady and the Patriots offense. The first half saw Brady under continuous harassment by the Bengals defense, and the offense scored all of 10 points. With some halftime adjustments, the offense then rattled off 25 points in the second half, with some savvy plays by Brady himself. Brady's first touchdown was an easy pitch and catch to James White, who beat a linebacker in coverage for a score. White's second touchdown catch from Brady was nearly identical, beating a defender on an out type route. Brady's touchdown to Rob Gronkowski was a thing of beauty even though it was a short score. Gronk ran a curl route in the end zone, and Brady placed the ball low and away from the defender. You couldn't have handed the ball in a better spot, and it was a perfect location with a solid hands catch by Gronk. There were no major blemishes that were Brady's fault on the day besides a narrow Edelman overthrow in the end zone, and though he's only played 2 games this season, he's in late season form already.

2016 Week 5 vs CLE (28 / 40 / 406 / 3 / 0 pass, 2 / 14 / 0 rush)

Rust? What rust? Tom Brady was absolutely masterful against the Browns, passing for 277 yards by halftime and over 400 for the entire game. His footwork was great, the offensive line held up reasonably well, he went through progressions. In fact, he came out with 6 minutes left in the game because of the lopsided game score. All 3 of Brady's touchdowns were to Martellus Bennett. The first was a walk-in play action fake, where Bennett was so wide open that he literally walked to the end zone for a short 7 yard score. The second touchdown was a nice pitch and catch in heavy traffic, with perfect ball placement and an even nicer clutch grab. The third was an out and up for 37 yards where Bennett simply beat his defender in coverage. Brady also had numerous other deep connections, a promising sign after some struggles with the deep ball over the last couple years. Several were to Chris Hogan, including a 63 yarder in which he could have scored if he didn't have to dive for the ball. Brady also connected on a couple 30+ yard gains to Gronk, who's clearly back from his hamstring injury. With a tough road ahead, Bradyís return came just in time for the AFC East favorites.

Latest News

Patriots | Tom Brady faces tough test (Wed Dec 7, 06:56 PM) - New England Patriots QB Tom Brady is facing the NFL's No. 1 ranked defense in the Baltimore Ravens this week. He has fared well against elite defenses in his career, however, amassing a 6-0 record with 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions in home games versus No. 1 defenses.

Patriots | Tom Brady earns 201st victory (Sun Dec 4, 07:14 PM) - New England Patriots QB Tom Brady completed 33 of his 46 pass attempts for 269 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in the Week 13 game against the Los Angeles Rams. With the win, he became the winningest quarterback in NFL history with 201 victories. 'It's always been about winning, and I've been very fortunate to be on a lot of great teams,' Brady said. 'I'm really grateful.'

Our View: Brady was active in the short passing game and the team settled for four field goals, so his fantasy output was muted in this one. Next week brings the Ravens.link to story

Patriots | Questionable tag for Tom Brady (Fri Dec 2, 04:50 PM) - New England Patriots QB Tom Brady (knee) has been limited in practice each the last two days after sitting out Wednesday, Nov. 30, but he is fully expected to play in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Rams.